Biography Of Erik Estrada Essay, Research Paper
(Frank
Poncherello)
Erik was born on March 16, 1949 as Henry Enrique
Estrada in NY City. Back around 1968, he was in a
dance troupe and earned $38 a week with free lunches
and all the acting lessons he could take. In return, he had
to perform daily in downtown Los Angeles. He had a
10-day hospital stay in August 1979 caused by on-set
accident when he was thrown from his motorcycle and the
900-pound bike landed on him. At 5′10”, 160 pounds, he
was an inch shorter and 15 pounds lighter than Wilcox.
But his physical fitness routine helped him rebound from
his injury: 240 situps and 120 push ups on a daily basis.
He is going through custody disputes about his two boys
and he has “a steady girl”.
Erik was voted as one of “The 10 Sexiest Bachelors in the
World” in People Magazine on November 19, 1979. The
cover features Erik towering above the other men (Willie
Ames included) at the top of the page, cutting into the
People sign, with nothing but a big smile and a towel lying
across his shoulder. The magazine says,
For all his raw physical appearance, Estrada
regards himself as “gentle, kind and
considerate.” He buys his dates jewelry and
treats them to champagne and sushi
evenings. But Estrada has grown cunning. “In
the past, women I’ve dated always decided
to be actresses. I was just a means to an end
for them.” So what does he really look for in
a woman? The actor flashes a huge smile.
“T&A”
Erik lives out in the San Fernando Valley. He’s up in the
hills behind the Burbank airport and south of Universal
Studios. His house is way at the top of this hill and it’s
easy to spot. He did an interview on the Mexican Channel
from some show called CONTROL and it shows you
where Erik lives and the inside of his house. He has two
“CHiPs” motorcycles (sans the engines) sitting in the
middle of the house and old magazines with his picture on
the cover (TV Guide, People) plastered all over the walls.
He has really unusual wall paper (stripes & polka dots)
and a bunch of trinkets sitting around. He has all sorts of
little gumball machines and slot machines sprinkled
throughout his residence. The house wasn’t too big,
seemed like your average 4-5 bedroom track home
actually.
Starring Roles:
Where is Parsifal? (?)
The Repentant (?)
Silver Circle (?)
Vengeance of Little Saigon (?)
Will You Run With Me? (?)
The Ballad of Billie Blue (1971)
The Cross and the Switchblade (1972) [as
Nicky]
The New Centurions (1972)
Airport 1975 (1974) [as Julio]
Trackdown (1976) [as Chucho]
Midway (1976) (aka The Battle of Midway)
Fire! (TV-1977) [Frank]
“CHiPs” (TV-1977-83) [Officer Frank "Ponch"
Poncherello]
The Line (1980)
The Lost Idol (1980)
Jailbreakin’ (1980)
Shock Troop (1980)
The Bronx, Fort Apache (1981)
Honeyboy (TV-1982)
Lightblast (1985)
Hour of the Assassin (1987)
The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (TV-1988)
[as Carmine D'Agostino]
She Knows Too Much (TV-1989) [as Jimmy
Alvarez]
Alien Seed (1989)
Andy and the Airwave Rangers (1989)
Twisted Justice (1990) [as Commander Gage]
Spirits (1990)
A Show of Force (1990) [as Machado]
Night of the Wilding (1990) [as Joseph]
Guns (1990)
Caged Fury (1990)
The Last Riders (1991) [as Johnny]
Extralarge: Cannonball (TV-1991) [as
Gonzales]
Earth Angel (TV-1991) [as Duke]
Do or Die (1991) aka Girls, Games and Guns
[as Richard Estaban]
The Divine Enforcer (1991)
“Dos Mujeres, Un Camino” (Two Women, One
Road) (Mexican Univision Network 1993-94)
National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
[as "Erik" with Larry Wilcox]
Angel Eyes (1993) [as Johnny]
The Final Goal (1994)
American Adventurer (TV-1996) [Host]
Fight Zone (Pay-Per-View 7/5/1996) [Host]
Visions (Completed)
Guest Appearances:
Hawaii-Five-0 (TV-1973) “Engaged to Be
Buried”
Owen Marshall, Counseler At Law (TV-1973)
“Once A Lion”
Kolchak, The Night Stalker (TV-1975) “Legacy
of Terror”
Medical Center (TV-1975) “The High Cost of
Winning”
Police Woman (TV-1975) “Don’t Feed the
Pigeons”
The Love Boat (TV-1978) “Going By the Book”
The Six Million Dollar Man (TV-19??) “The
Deadly Test”
The Mike Douglas Show (TV-1980)
Women Who Rate A 10 (TV-1981)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV-1988)
A Taco Bell commercial (TV-19??) ["Excuse me
ma'am...do you have a license for that taco?"]
“Cybil” (CBS-1995)
The Nanny (NBC-1994 or 95) [as himself]
Burke’s Law (TV-1994 or 95)
Music City Tonight (TV-1995) [as himself...sitting
next to Robert Conrad]
Psychic Revival Network (TV-199?)
Hunter “City of Passion” (TV-199?)
Mysteries Magic and Miracles (Sci-Fi-1996)
High Society (CBS-1996) “Alice Doesn’t Pump
Here Anymore” [as Pedro the Doorman]
Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC-5/1/97)
[guest]
Home Boys in Outer Space (UPN-5/6/97)
Good Morning America (ABC-5/7/97) [guest]
The Carol & Marilyn Show (TV-5/7/97) [guest]
Politically Incorrect (ABC-5/12/97) [guest]
Viva Variety (Comedy Central-5/13/97) [as his
mother]
Talk Soup (E!-5/23/97) [guest]
The Rosie O’Donnell Show (TV-5/27(28?)/97)
[guest]
The Daily Show (Comedy Central-1997) [guest]
Charles Grodin (CNBC-1997) [guest]
Geraldo (TV-1997) [guest]
Published Works:
Erik Estrada: My Road from Harlem to
Hollywood; ?1997
Transcripts:
Read a transcript of Erik’s 4/30/97 chat on AOL
Read a transcript of Erik’s 5/2/97 chat on MSN
Although Erik does not have a public e-mail address, you
can contact him at the address he supplied in the AOL
chat:
Erik Estrada
11288 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604